Biography
Hello! My name is Sheila Farnell-Luff and I am an educator rooted in the prairies, currently living and working in Regina, Saskatchewan. Raised in the small town of Sonningdale, Saskatchewan, I went on to study at Lakeland College and the University of Regina. I have earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and a…
Learning Journey – The Coffee Talk Podcast
Well, this has been a fruitful and enjoyable journey. I’ll admit, I didn’t realize just how much I didn’t know about podcasting—the different avenues, the complexities, and the sheer number of podcasts out there to explore. So, let’s start from the beginning. When I first started, I had some idea of why I wanted to…
See what I posted (but don’t look at my actions)?! I am an Ally….
Social media activism is an interesting topic to me. While I understand its role in spreading awareness and sharing information about ongoing movements, I often find it accompanied by platitudes and passive support from those who post. That said, some do use social media for active organizing and meaningful protest—whether for the betterment or detriment…
AI – Future friend or foe?
From the beginning, I was a bit taken aback by how closely Perplexity resembled ChatGPT when it launched. However, after using it, I found myself liking it a bit more than ChatGPT. I chose to explore Perplexity’s capabilities by using the topic of WWI war crimes committed by Canadian soldiers. This is a subject currently…
Podcast – Week 7 – Social Media
I believe this is the last week that I will be discussing the set-up of my podcast! We are almost at the fun part. However, first, we need to discuss the social media aspect of a podcast. Advertising on social media is essential in this day and age. When I look up businesses, I turn…
Podcast – Learning Journey – Week 5 – YouTube videos and AI comparison
Last week, we explored how AI can help you create your podcast. This week, we are going to look at Youtube‘s advice to start your podcast. Now, there are a plethora of videos about how to start a podcast. All of them have valuable information, but sometimes the creators pass along ideas that are not…
Oh Where, oh where is my coding?
When we hear the word coding, some people start to think about computer science, long lines of text, and dark dank computer labs. It is technical, detailed, and overwhelming. However, where we are in our profession, and (most likely) our level of understanding on the topic – we would not be in the same realm…
Assistive tech in the class – What works for one, works for all – if they buy in
During my short time as a teacher, I have had a few experiences with assistive technology. Most have not been well received. While I worked with students with ADHD and learning disabilities, the only tools I was aware of at the time were the speech-to-text and reader on Microsoft Word and OneNote. While these are…
Assessment is a conversation? Or is it solely objective?
When we consider the statement from Joe Bower, “Assessment is not a spreadsheet, it’s a conversation”, we can see there is a disconnect between the reasoning behind assessment and its reception. While we, as educators, try our hardest to attempt to give good feedback and ways to improve student’s work; students (for the most part) stop…
Web 3.0 – A bold new adventure or a web of danger?
When looking at the evolution to Web 3.0, we can see the influence of this new technology on our students and education on the whole. As Gerstein states, “The Web, Internet, Social Media, and the evolving, emerging technologies have created a perfect storm or convergence of resources, tools, open and free information access.” This concept,…